Steel wool and soap holder



Jan. 12, 1937. E. KLEINMAN STEEL WOOL AND SOAR HOLDER Filed May 4, 1954 INVENTQR Y O Emanuelhlemman Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

This invention relates to scouring holders for holding steel wool and soap or other cleansing material, and contemplates the provision of means whereby soap or other material held by the holder may be readily dissolved or carried during the scouring operation to reach both the effective portion of the steel wool and the article to be cleansed. In what follows, I will use the term soap to designate any suitable cleansing material whether in cake or powder form as well as scouring powders and cakes.

My. invention further contemplates the provision of inexpensive, simple and efiicient holding means providing a soap compartment accessible to washing fluid and communicating with a steel wool compartment.

My invention further contemplates the provision of means for maintaining a portion of the steel wool in the steel wool compartment in effective scouring'position, and of means for adjusting said position.

My invention further contemplates the provision of inexpensive means including a steel wool holder and a soap holder which may be readily assembled and disassembled for the insertion of supplies of wool and soap thereinto and which can be conveniently grasped by the user and manipulated easily to perform its scouring function.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a simple and inexpensive scouring device adapted to hold steel wool and soap and which can be easily manipulated to reach reentrant corners and places in articles to be cleansed which are ordinarily diflicult to reach.

The various objects of my invention will be clear from the description which follows, and from the drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a front view, partly in section, of

one form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same, showing a modified form of the steel wool retaining and adjusting means.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of a modified form of my improved holder showing a holder made of two pieces of sheet material and showing further, another form of the wool-retaining means.

Fig. 5 is a combined front elevation and vertical section of another form of my new holder.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the same, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of another modified form of my new holder.

Fig. 8 is a front view of one of the parts of the holder shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the same with part of the bottom broken away to show the openings between the soap compartment and the steel wool compartment.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of another modified form of my improved holder made of two pieces of sheet material with the wool holding means integral with one of the pieces. 10

In the practical embodiment of my invention which I have shown by Way of example, I have provided a compartment open at its ends and closed at its sides and adapted to receive a mass of steel wool preferably in the form of a plug 15 normally projecting from the compartment into scouring position.

I have further provided a soap compartment containing apertures from which dissolved or powdered soap or the like may flow on to the article to be cleansed, and communicating with 20 the steel wool compartment whereby dissolved soap or the like may also flow on to the effective portion of the wool.

In that form of my invention shown in Figs.

1, 2, and 3, the entire holder I0 is shown as 25 made of a single piece of sheet material. Said sheet is bent into substantially triangular form though it will be understood that any suitable form may be used instead, if desired (Fig. 10). As illustrated, however, the sheet is bent to form 30 the two converging sides I l and I2, the rear wall l3 of the wool compartment, the rear wall M of the soap compartment, the end walls [5 and I6 of the soap compartment, and the bottom ll of said soap compartment. One end as I8 of the sheet may be suitably secured to the end wall I 5 while the other end IQ of the sheet may be secured to the inclined side or wall II. It will be noted that the wool compartment 20 is open at both ends but that the soap compartment 2| 40 is partially closed at its lower end by the bottom II which, however, is provided with a series of perforations 22, through which the dissolved soap or the like may flow out.

Optionally, the cap 23, of substantially the 45 same form as the cross-section of the holder It) may be used to removably close the upper end of said holder.

At its lower end, the wall I3 is provided with a series of spaced openings as 24 through which dissolved soap or the like may flow from the soap compartment into the mass or plug 25 of steel wool. Said wool is arranged in the Wool compartment 20 to project therefrom slightly 55 but sufiiciently to permit the scouring action desired.

In order to compensate for the wearing off of the steel woo-l plug 25, and to prevent said plug from moving upwardly in the wool compartment 29 during the scouring action, adjustable means are provided for engaging the upper end of the wool plug. As shown in Fig. 2, said means comprises the preferably fiat sheet 21 of generally circular Iormbut "providedwith a series of spaced arcuat'e'indentations as 28. The walls II and [2 of the holder are also indented inwardly at vertically spaced intervals as at 29 1 to provide projections extending inwardly of said walls and toward the plug of wool. It Will'be seen that the sheet or plate 21 'may be readily inserted into the compartment .20 vwhen the arcuate recesses 28 register with the projections 29, whereupon the sheet may be moved downwardly until it engages the upperend of the wool 25 and compresses said vwool. When suflicient compression has been exerted upon the plug of wool, the plate 21 isrotated into the position of Fig. 2 to carry thejrecess'es 28 out of registration with the projections 29.

On. the release of the sheet, the wool acting as a spring by reason of its resiliency, locks the plate 21in firm engagement with the projections 29. This action is aided during the scouring operation, which tends to force the Wool up against the sheet 21 and to force said sheet against the'the projections When the wool has been worn down close'to the holder, the entire block of wool may be. moved downwardly out of the holder and prevented from returning into the holder by moving the plate 21 down into engagement with the next set of projections 29.

As shown in Fig. 3, the holding plate for the wool plug may take a triangular form instead of the generally circular form previously described. In this case, the recesses 28 are omitted from the triangular plate 30, but said plate may be readily inserted in place by tilting it and at the same time compressing the top of the. plug 25, the

plate. 39 being moved into position underneath the projections 3| and then released, whereby the spring action of the wool carries said plate into engagement with the-projections.

In that form of my invention shown in Fig. 4, the projections 29 and the'plates 21 and 30 may be omitted, andthe wool held instead by means of suitable removable bank pinsas 32 and 33 passed through openings34'and 35 respectively near the lower end or theholder'lh As the wool is worn away,.thepins are removed, the wool pushed down to project out of the bottom of the compartment andlthe pins then re-inserted to hold the wool in place. g

I have further shown in Fig. 4, my-improved holder made of two separate pieces of sheet material, one forminge'the open-sided wool compartment and the other the soap compartment. As illustrated, the walls 36 andi3'l are bent from one piece to form the wool fcompartment, and the other pieceis bent to form a soap'compartment of substantially rectangular prismatic form. At their edges, each of the walls 36 and 3? may be provided 'witha' suitable longitudinal curve or bead 38 entering the corresponding longitudinal recessesf39'in each of the' end walls of the soap compartment, whereby the soap compartment may be readily removed for the insertion of the soap 49 there'into' and also to'permit the ready insertion of the wool plug 25 into the wool compartment 20.

In operation, after the wool and soap have been inserted into their respective compartments, the user may close the upper end of the holder by the cap 23 should it be desired to do so. Whether or not the cap is used, the user grasps the walls ll, l2 and [4 between his fingers and thereby is enabled to exert a downward force uponthe projecting end of the wool 25 and at the same time to give the holder the proper movement to perform the scouring operation. As the user must ordinarily wet the article to be scoured, some of the moisture passes through the openings 22 and 24 into the soap compartment and dissolves some of the soap 40. The dissolved soap then passes through said openmgs 22 and 24 on to the article and on to the end of the wool plug respectively, thereby soaping the article to a suflicient extent to hasten the securing operation. If desired, the soap may be moistened to hasten its dissolution or some water may be inserted into the soap compartment toward the same end, though this is not usually necessary nordesirable. l

In that form of my invention shown in Figs, 5 and 6, the holder is made of cylindrical form and of several parts, two of which are similar, and the soap compartment is of annular form surrounding the W001 compartment. In this form of my invention, the wool compartment 50 is formed by means of a pair of hollow semicylindrical "members 5| and 52, each provided in the interior'thereof with a series of inwardly projecting vertically-spaced circular teeth or serrations 53. The circular cap 54 serves to hold the pair of similar open-sided members 5|v and 52 together at their upper ends withtheir flat edges 62 and 53in contact.

At their lower ends, each of said members is provided witha semi-circular outstanding annular flange as 55 provided with a series of spaced openings as 56.

On the outersurface'of each of said members is further provided a series of circumferentially spaced projections as 51. To hold the members together at their lower ends,,the annular member 58 is provided. The outer wall 59 of said member is adapted to reston the outermost periphery of the flange 55, while the horizontal wall 60 of said member is provided with a series of recesses or notches 6I adapted to register with the projections 57.

To assemble the holder, the members 5| and 52 are brought together with;their fiat faces '62 and B3 in contact and thereby to form a cylin: der. 'The member 59 which is provided with an opening 64 therein, is passed downwardly over the thus-assembled cylinder in the proper 'position to permit the passage of the projections 53 through the recesses 6| and to carry the bottom edge of the wall 59 into contact with the flange 55. Said member 53 is then rotated to carry the recesses 6| out of, registry with the projections 57 and thereby not only to lock the members 5| and 52 together but also to form the soap compartment. 65. g

It will be understood that in this form of my invention, the soap adapted to be inserted in the soap compartment 65 may be made of annular form or in the form of a series of quadrants or the like, and may be arranged in said compart" ment on the flange 55 beforejthe member 58 is.

assembled into its operativeposition with the other parts. Similarly, the steel wool plug or cylinder 69 may be arranged between the pair of members 5| and 52 before said members are assembled or afterwards, if desired. The teeth 53 prevent the retraction of the wool cylinder 69 within the holder. When the wool is worn close to the holder, however, the cap 54 may be removed and the plug conveniently pushed down to project the desired distance out of the holder after which it is again held in place against upward movement relatively to the holder by the inclined teeth 53.

Communication between the soap compartment 65 and the wool compartment 50 is effected by the series of spaced openings 69 made in the lower ends of the members 5| and 52 just above the flange 55. All the parts may be readily and inexpensively pressed from sheet material if found desirable to do so.

In that form of my invention shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the substantially cylindrical members 10 and 1| are similar to the members 5| and 52, but may be made in the form of a casting. However,'the member 58 forming the soap compartment has been omitted. At their lower ends, each of said members is provided with an annular passage as 12 forming the soap compartment. Said passage communicates with the wool compartment 13 as by means of the openings 84 in the inner wall of said soap compartment. Similarly, openings as 14 in the bottom wall of the soap compartment permit dissolved soap to flow from said compartment on to the article to be cleansed. A suitable recess as 15 may be made in the bottom of each of the members 10 and II to receive part of the wool cylinder 16 as the end of said cylinder is bent over into said recesses under the stress of the scouring operation.

In order to permit the members 10 and H to be readily assembled, a suitable pin as 1'! projects from the flat face 18 of each of said members and is adapted to enter a suitable hole as 19 in the other member. The cap 54 serves to removably hold said members together during the securing operation in the same manner as heretofore described in connection with Figs. 5 and 6.

Referring to that form of my invention shown in Fig. 10, the wool compartment is there illustrated as being of substantially rectangular form and open at the top and bottom as well as open at the back. This form of my invention may be readily made of sheet metal throughout. The wool compartment includes the front wall 99 and the side walls 9| and 92. Each of the side walls terminates at its rear part in a resilient portion 94 providing a pair of ribs or projections extending outwardly toward each other. The soap compartment 93 is similarly of rectangular crosssection, the front wall 98 thereof forming the partition wall between the two compartments and serving as the rear Wall of the wool compartment. Said soap compartment is made preferably as a removable unit readily snappingly connected to and disengaged from the wall compartment. To- Ward this end, the side walls of the soap compartment are recessed as at to resiliently receive the projections or ribs 94 of the walls of the wool compartment. To detach the parts, the soap compartment is merely snapped or forced rearwardly whereby the walls of the recesses 95 force the ribs 94 apart and permit the soap compartment to be withdrawn. To assemble the parts, the action is reversed whereby the ribs or projections 94 are first spread apart and then snapped into the recess 95 to hold the parts together.

Means are provided on the wall 98 for securing in place the steel wool plug inserted in the wool compartment. As illustrated, said means comprises a series of prongs 96 preferably pointed and bent from the material of the wall 98 after a suitable pair of intersecting cuts 91 have been made in said wall. It will be understood that a number of such prongs 96 may be variously arranged in the wall 98 so as to enter the wool plug at the proper places to hold said plug securely. It will further be understood that as the plug wears out, the soap compartment 93 may be readily removed, thereby withdrawing the prongs 96 from the plug whereafter the plug may be pushed down to the desired extent to project beyond the steel wool compartment and the soap compartment, then reassembled to the wool compartment to force the prongs 96 into the wool plug and to hold it in its proper position.

It will be seen that I have provided a simple and inexpensive holder for steel wool, which holder is provided with a soap compartment outside of the wool compartment, said compartments communicating with each other so that dissolved soap or other suitable cleansing material may pass through one compartment to the other, and the soap compartment being so designed as to permit dissolved soap readily to reach the article to be cleansed, and that I have provided effective means for adjustably holding the steel wool in its compartment so that it may be readily arranged in securing position as it wears down. It will further be seen that I have provided a simple and inexpensive structure well adapted to meet the requirements of practical use.

While I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that I do not desire to limit myself thereto but intend to claim my invention as broadly as may be permitted by the state of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a steel wool and soap holder. a compartment open at its upper and lower ends and adapted to enclose a plug of steel wool except at the operative end of the plug which projects downwardly beyond the compartment, means within 7 through said wall and having a bottom wall adjacent the lower end of the steel wool compartment and provided with openings for the passage of cleansing material out of the soap compartment and directly on to the article of work.

2. In a steel wool and soap holder, a compartment open on at least one end, pointed means in the compartment to penetrate into and hold a plug of steel wool in adjustable scouring position, and a soap compartment carried by the firstmentioned compartment and having a perforated wall forming part of the outside of the holder, said wall being arranged adjacent the open end of the first mentioned compartment.

3. In a steel wool and soap holder, a steel wool compartment having an open end and an elongated wall, a soap compartment arranged outwardly of and connected to the steel wool compartment, a partition between the compartments, a perforated end wall on the soap compartment arranged at substantially right angles to the partition and adjacent said open end whereby the soap compartment communicates directly with an article of work on which the holder isplaced, and pointed means projecting inwardly from the elongated wall of the wool compartment to penetrate into the wool in the wool compartment.

4. In a scouring holder, 9. steel wool compartment open at one end and closed at its sides, a soap compartment adjacent the steel wool compartment, one of said compartments having a recess, means for detachably securing said compartments together including a spring portion on the other of said compartments entering the recess of said one of the compartments, a common dividing side wall between the compartments, and an end wall in the soap compartment provided with openings, said end wall-being arranged in proximity to the open end of the steel wool compartment. I

5. In a scouring holder, an elongated steel Wool compartment having walls of sufilcient length to be grasped by the hand of the user and having an opening in an end thereof, means projecting inwardly of the walls of the compartment for holding a plug of steel wool against retraction within the compartment, a soap compartment having elongated walls secured to and arranged outwardly of the wool compartment and provided with a perforated end Wall directly accessible to liquid from an article of work and arranged adjacent said opening, and -a partition between the compartments perforated to provide communication therebetween, said partition being substantially of the same length as said walls.

6. In a scouring holder, an elongated steel wool compartment having an open end and formed of a single piece of material to provide walls thereon, a soap compartment having a wall arranged beyond the walls of the wool compartment and provided with a perforated end wall adjacent said open end, means for detachably holding the Walls of said compartments together in operative relation, and pointed means cooperating with the walls of the wool compartment and extending inwardly thereof for holding a plug of steel wool in adjusted position in said wool compartment.

7. In a scouring holder, a sheet metal steel wool compartment open at one end and on-one side, a sheet metal soap compartment carried by the wool compartment and having a perforated end wall adjacent the open end of the wool comp-artment and having a side wall closing the open side of the wool compartment and pointed means projecting inwardly into the wool compartment and said compartment, and an annular soap compartment carried by said members and arranged outwardly beyond the wool compartment and communicating therewith through openings therein.

, 9. In a scouring holder, a pair of hollow semicylindrical members, means for holding said members inposition to form a tubular open steel wool compartment and an annular soap compartment carried by and surrounding the open end part of the wool compartment and having openings therein communicating therewith and with the outside of said holder.

10. In a scouring holder, a pair of similar hollow members, means for holding said members together to form a tubular steel wool compartment, and an annular soap compartment projecting from said members and surrounding an end part of the tubular wool compartment, said soap compartment having openings for the passage of soap from the soap compartment to a point adjacent the wool compartment.

11. In a scouring holder, a pair of similar hollow semi-cylindrical members having serrated inner walls and open at their ends, a removable cap for removably holding the corresponding ends of said members together to form a cylindrical steel wool compartment in the interior of said members, an outstanding perforated flange on each of said members, a series of circumferentially spaced projections on the outer walls of said members, and an annular member recessed correspondingly to said projections and locked thereunder against the flange to form a soap compartment.

, 12. In a scouring holder, a pair of similar semicylindrical members each open on one side and provided with a terminal outstanding perforated flange, said members being adapted to be brought together with their open sides in contact to form a tubular steel wool compartment, a series of cir cumferentially spaced projections. on the outer walls of said members, a soap-compartmentforming member having an opening therein of substantially the diameter of the outer Walls of said members for the passage of said members, the wall surrounding said opening being recessed to receive said projections, said soap-compartment-forming member being arranged with its lower edge in contact with the terminal flanges of said members and turned in position underneath said projections to hold said members together and to cooperate with the flange to form a soap compartment.

13. In a scouring holder, a pair of similar separable members forming a steel wool compartment, a removable soap-compartment-forming member arranged around said similar members and having perforations therein for the passage of soap therefrom, and means on the soap-compartment-forming member and on said similar members for looking all of said members together.

14. In a scouring holder, a sheetmetal steel wool compartment open at one end and having at least two sides and open on another side, a sheet metal soap compartment having four side walls and an end wall, said end wall being perforated, inter-engaging means on two opposed sides of the soap compartment and on corresponding sides of the wool compartment for d'etachably securing said compartments together in the position wherein one of the side walls of the soap compartment closes the open side of the wool compartment, and the perforated end Wall is adjacent the open end of the wool compartment, and pointed means passing into the wool compartment from a side wall of one of said compartments for entrance into a plug of steel wool inserted into said wool compartment to hold said plug in place.

EMANUEL KLEINMAN. 

